What is Metamask Wallet
Metamask is a wallet that allows you to transfer cryptocurrency coins or tokens from one wallet to another. It does not physically hold the coins in the wallet, but merely gives you control over the tokens located on the blockchain. This is what we call a web 3.0 wallet. The difference between Metamask and more conventional wallets such as Exodus or even a hardware wallet like the Trezor is that Metamask does not physically hold the tokens.
The Metamask wallet is probably the most common web 3.0 wallet. Some other web 3.0 wallets include Opera Browser, Trust Wallet and Coinbase wallet. Essentially, Web 3.0 wallets allow us access to DApps (Decentralized Apps) which in turn make it possible for us to participate in DeFi (Decentralized Finance). If you would like to know what DeFi is and how it works, check out this article here.
How to Get Started Using Metamask Wallet
You can download the Metamask browser extension from the Metamask website. Alternatively, you can download the mobile version for both iOS and Android. However, for the purposes of this article, we are going to stick with the desktop version.
Metamask Download
Once you have completed downloading and installing the browser extension, click the “GET STARTED” button. Next, click either “create a new wallet” or “import an existing wallet” by using a seed phrase. If you do have an existing wallet, use your seed phrase to import it.
Import or Create Wallet
For those who do not know, your seed phrase is basically the backup phrase or password for your wallet. Without it, you will not be able to import an existing wallet. Be careful not to share your seed phrase with anyone, as that will allow them access to your funds or tokens. I highly recommended that you do not store your seed phrase on your computer or phone (or anything with internet access for that matter). Instead, write it down on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place.
After clicking on Create new wallet, you will be prompted to agree and accept some terms as well as create a password. Once you have created your password, you will have the option to either write down your seed phrase or to be reminded again later. I would advise you to write it down before you forget. Wallah, you have now created a working Metamask wallet.
Create Password & Seed Phrase
Using the Metamask Wallet
As the Metamask wallet is built on the Ethereum (ERC20) Blockchain I recommend that you get some ETH in your wallet. The ethereum network will require a small portion of ETH (a Gas Fee) for it to be able to perform swaps and send tokens etc. It is important to keep in mind that this fee is not charged by metamask but by the Ethereum network. The fee rate is dependent on a few factors. These can include network congestion and also the number of transactions that need to be processed. Transactions with higher fees will be processed faster.
To get ETH in your wallet you can either send it from another wallet or exchange or buy some ETH directly from the app via Debit/Credit card.
Buy ETH with Debit Card
So what can you do with Metamask? Well, quite a lot of things really. You can swap and send or receive tokens directly in the app. You can connect to third party exchanges or DEX’s (Decentralized Exchanges) such as Uniswap, Pancakeswap etc.
How to Swap Tokens in Metamask
As it so happens, I have some LINK (Chainlink) in my wallet, which we are now going to swap for ETH. First, we click “Swap” and then select the LINK token to “swap from” and select ETH to “swap to”. Next, we have the option to adjust the slippage, which is basically just a percentage by which the price can fluctuate before metamask will cancel the transaction if not yet complete. In this case, I will leave it at 3%. We now select the amount of LINK to swap, of which I will use the maximum of ±9 LINK which I have available.
Swap LINK for ETH on Metamask
We then click “Review Swap”. This allows Metamask to check quite a few third party exchanges, seven in this case, for the best price. The next screen presents us with a quote that includes the estimated network fee (the Gas Fee) to which I was referring to earlier, as well as the option to edit said fee. Once we are happy with the quote and fee we can click “swap”. Metamask will now process the swap and this could take a minute or two.
Metamask Swap Quote & Swap Processing
After a short while the transaction is confirmed and I now have 0.1ETH in my wallet.
Connecting Metamask Wallet to a DEX
Next, we are going to connect our Metamask wallet to a DEX, in this case, Uniswap. Once the Uniswap app has loaded, you will want to connect your Metamask wallet. Click “Connect to a wallet” in the top right-hand corner. The next action will prompt us with a popup window, now choose Metamask.
Connect Metamask Wallet to Uniswap App
Metamask will then open a separate window asking you whether you would like to connect your wallet and whichever account (if you have more than one) you would like to link with the uniswap app. We then click “Next” and a new window opens and we then click “connect”. And, success! Once Metamask is connected, the screen will then return to the Uniswap app where we will be able to see our wallet address where “connect to a wallet” used to be.
Metamask now Connected to Uniswap App
See the detailed Metamask how-to video, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diKyqyU_a4Y&t=17s
Metamask — Detailed How-to
How to add other Chains or Networks to Metamask Wallet
As mentioned previously, Metamask works on the Ethereum Mainnet. However, it is also possible to connect other networks or chains to Metamask, such as the BSC (Binance Smart Chain) Network.
To do that we need to first click on the account icon, next to the Ethereum Mainnet dropdown menu. Then, click on settings and then select the “Networks” tab in the left-hand menu. Once in the Networks tab, we will click on “Add Network”.
For the BSC Network, we will need to enter the following settings in the boxes.
BSC Network settings for Metamask
Please click “Save” after entering those details. You will now see, Binance Smart Chain Network in the Network drop-down menu. You should now be able to connect your Metamask wallet to Pancakeswap and transact using the BSC Network, instead of the Ethereum Mainnet.
How to use the Metamask Mobile App
As mentioned in the beginning you can also download and use Metamask on mobile devices. I will be using an iPhone 11 running iOS 14.5, but this will work on android as well. First, you will need to launch the DEX app (I will be using Uniswap again) in your browser. Next, click on “Connect to a wallet” in the bottom left-hand corner. This will launch a menu, where you should select “WalletConnect”.
Using Metamask with Uniswap on Mobile
Wallet Connect will open and ask you to choose your preferred wallet. We will select the Metamask icon, for obvious reasons. This action will then launch your Metamask wallet app and ask you whether you would like to connect to the Uniswap app. We will select “Connect”.
A small box containing a green checkmark at the bottom of the screen will serve as an indication that the app is now connected. You should now switch back to your browser, where you will see your wallet address in the bottom left-hand corner. Success, again! You will now be able to swap tokens via your mobile.
Metamask Mobile Connected to Uniswap
Why use Metamask Wallet
As you can see, this isn’t exactly rocket science, but it does come with a bit of a learning curve. So, why go through all that trouble and not just use a Centralised exchange like Coinbase or Binance you ask?
The Metamask app will be essential whilst wanting to connect to the ever-expanding world of DApps and Decentralized Finance. Most of the DeFi functions are not yet accessible via centralised exchanges. Or if you would like to stake a specific coin such as OCC (OccamFi) or yield farm, you are going to need to use a web 3.0 wallet.
Early DeFi Participation and IDOs
Most projects at launch, are listed as IDOs (Initial Decentralized Exchange Offerings), instead of the ICOs of old. If you participate in the right projects, it usually pays off to get in early. Should you wish to participate in the early stages of a project, you will need to get an allocation of that project on a launchpad, such as Occam Razor, which is a dedicated launchpad for projects wanting to launch on the ADA (Cardano) blockchain.
Metamask Wallet on Occam Razor Launchpad
As you can see, there are many different use cases for a web 3.0 wallet such as Metamask.
Conclusion
The Metamask wallet is definitely the favourite among many users for most of the applications we have just looked at. In my opinion, Metamask probably has the most user-friendly interface as well. I would say that this is more of an intermediate than beginner level application. However, if you clicked on this post, you probably already knew that. Either way, you can’t go wrong with the Metamask wallet. Click here if you would like to download Metamask now.
Should you be more interested in the more conventional CeFi wallets where you can still earn some generous APYs as well as borrow against your crypto, we have a few of our favourites listed down below. I would like to point out that these are referral links that do help out the site at no extra cost to you.
- NEXO — Check out our review of the Nexo Lending Platform here.
- BlockFi
- Ledn
- Celcius Network
- Yield App
